Together with Our Customers

Clarion is strengthening its quality control system and lines of communication with its customers. This is because we consider the views of our customers to be the starting point of activities to achieve CS (Customer Satisfaction). We consider the views of our customers to be crucial information, to be inputted to, and utilized within the company.
It is Clarion’s goal to walk together with our customers and thereby to earn their trust and satisfaction.

Maintaining and Enhancing Customer Satisfaction and Trust

■ Quality Policy

Clarion’s Corporate Vision states; “The link between sound and information communication in the mobile environment of the car will evolve into new domains based on our unique ideas and advanced technologies. Through this, we will provide safety, security, comfort and excitement to our customers all over the world. We at Clarion shall remain at the forefront of the industry, to precisely understand market needs and achieve long term growth”.
In order to materialize this vision, it is necessary to make everyone within the organization be aware of the importance of meeting customer needs, and then to implement activities that actually meet those needs. Thus, Clarion has declared that its basic policy for quality is to “gain customers’ confidence, trust and satisfaction.” Through promoting activities based on this policy, we aim to increase the value of our presence in society.
Losing such hard achieved confidence and trust is easy and happens so very quickly. We strive with pride to building up customers’ satisfaction in each of our products and their confidence and trust in us so they would say “Clarion, again”. For this reason, Clarion has positioned quality assurance as the utmost priority management issue.

■ Quality Assurance System

Clarion has established and retains a reliable quality assurance system not only for products of its own brand but also for those with OEM brands, which responds to requirements of end users and OEM partners. As a part of the efforts, all Clarion manufacturing units, including Thai factory which started operation in April 2012, have acquired certification of ISO/TS16949 which is a standard specifically required by automotive industry for quality management system, based on the international standard of ISO9001.
At the same time, we are in the process of building up organizations responding to ISO26262, which is a safety standard for vehicles. We are thus striving to improve our quality assurance system to “ensure customers’ satisfaction and trust” for our technologies that can promise them safety, security and comfort.

NX714 Smart Access Ready

■ Enhancement of Quality Assurance Processes in the New Category Products (Network Services Business and Intelligent Safety)

“Smart Access” started its operation from summer 2012. We are building up a new dimension of quality assurance processes for these services, which enable interoperation of diverse applications of rapidly expanding smartphones and vehicle mounted devices and provide customers diverse information, different from those centering on hardware required for conventional products.

For Improvement of Customer Satisfaction

Clarion strives to place the highest priority on technology development and improved product quality, to “improve products and services” for better customer satisfaction (CS) through enhancement of “lines of communication between customer and the company” and “feedback system within the company” of the assessed market needs.

● Types of Consultations/Inquiries

■ Communication Lines with Customers

Customer Support is the core communication live with our customers. Customer Service Office deals with customers’ inquiries requests and complaints, on nation-wide free-dial (Number of calls in fiscal 2013 was about 51,000.). Outside of free-dial hours, inquiries by email through our website are possible. The frequently asked questions are categorized and uploaded on the “Product-related FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)” on our website. As for product categories of inquiries, majority was for car-navigation systems (over 80%).
In the future, Clarion’s Customer Service Office will further enhance its supporting system and organization responding to new requirements from expanded business in “Smart Access”, products for CV (Commercial Vehicles) and Camera products.

● Input/Feedback System

■ Assessment of Customer Needs and System for Feedback within the Company

We issue monthly “Customer Reports” summarizing customers’ views, and hold monthly “CS (Customer Satisfaction) Conferences in order to improve product function and sales/repair/ servicing systems and to implement such improvements.
Furthermore, each such inquiries and responses are made available for review throughout the company via Intranet as a part of activities of transmission of information.
In fiscal 2013, we renewed the contents to be posted.
Additionally, the inquiries, requests and opinions of the customers are maintained with dedicated records as “Customers’ Voice” and are communicated to respective departments. With discussions and consultations with them, we try to reflect such customers’ voices on better products and services.

Responsibility Toward Product and Information Security

● Automatic Theft Identification System

■ Responsibility Toward Products

Clarion recognizes the nature of the products we sell and pay utmost attention in this respect of safety, complying with laws and safety standards (Product Liability Act, Consumer Product Safety Act, Safety Regulations for Road Vehicles, etc.). We make efforts to provide products that customers can use with feeling of safety through assessment of safety features of products and maintenance/ enhancement of their quality.
Because of recent drastic increase of thefts of navigation devices, there are increasing numbers of inquiries from police authorities.
In response to such situation, we launched an “Automatic Theft Identification System” in 2006. This system automatically cross-references the information contained in the reports of stolen products seized by police and that of our navigation device user registration, repair and map upgrading history and it contributes in quicker and more accurate identification.
There were more than 50 cases of cooperation with police authorities per year, including tracking/analysis of routes recorded on the navigation devices installed in the cars involved in crimes.

■ Administration of Personal Information

Customer information of purchasers is used in after-sales service and product development. For this purpose, we have a “Policies of Personal Information Protection”, which is accessible by public on our homepage. The Policy is appropriately managed in accordance with the “Administration Standards for Personal Information”.
Specifically, each department appoints a responsible staff who reports to Personal Information Protection General Manager, performs secure handling of such information through regular audits and interviews. Regular education and training are provided for employees in order to disseminate and raise their awareness of the need for compliance with the Personal Information Protection Law and other laws and regulations.

■ Information Security

Clarion has formulated an information security policy to avoid risks associated with information assets and their protection. The risks include, among others, information leakages, loss of corporate credibility through unauthorized use of software, and computer system failures caused by unauthorized access. We have such specific measures as physical control for access to restricted areas of server rooms among others as well as measures of surveillance of introduced software.
With regard to access to information assets, we have technical measures for protection through authorization processes with passwords and encryption of data.